Fest DeviousEpic Brewing Company

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Epic's Fest Devious is a Marzen. It pours a beautiful ruby red with a thin, fleeting white foamy head. Clean aromas of fall including caramel, roasted nuts and a tiny bit of pine bark accentuate this easy to drink lager. Lagered for 21 days, flavors of caramel, malt and light hops combine with a slight warming from the alcohol to make for a wonderful beer for the cool nights of fall.

When I took off the bottle cap, there was a pop like a champagne cork.
I expected a cascade of foam to follow, but no. I've never experienced this with a beer before.
The pour was very foamy, with a small amount of clear amber beer sinking down, so it did take a long time to pour.
But it was worth the wait, since this was malty and sweet with a hint of bitter to balance, and it was delicious stuff.

It smells of biscuity and grainy caramel malt, a touch of down with it toffee, some hard to really get it ashy smokiness, very subtle yeasty notes, and some sassy leafy, grassy, and piney green hop bitters. The taste is bready and doughy caramel malt, a touch of biscuity toffee, the remains of a cigar aficionado's day, and more well-tamed leafy, weedy, and herbal noble hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate for the task at hand, via its basically supportive frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and generally smooth, with a mild airy creaminess arising as time passes on. It finishes off-dry, the mix of semi-sweet caramel malt and sassy noble hops really hitting the spot right about now.

Overall, this is a veritable clone of the best of class Teutonic offerings for this specific style that I have yet to come across. Nice and malty, but pleasantly offset with a bit of spice and old-world hoppiness, not to mention the gently elevated booze quotient. Good, good stuff, ja?

A: Pours a clear dark copper in color with moderate to heavy amounts of active visible carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass and moderate amber + golden yellow highlights. The beer has a two finger tall sudsy foamy beige head that reduces to two large patches of medium thick film (of medium to larger sized bubbles) surrounded by a thin film covering the remainder of the surface of the beer and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

T: Upfront there is a slightly stronger than moderate flavor of caramel, toasted, and bready malts with a light hint of light fruit (green apple) sweetness. That is followed by moderate flavors of earthy + floral hops which contribute a light to moderate amount of lingering bitterness in the finish.

Poured a copper color with smell of cracker and malt. Taste is very biscuity with a malty backbone and a little bit of oak. Mouthfeel is good, medium bodied and a little slick. It's a good Oktoberfest but not the best version I've had.

Actually this is Release #11, but every batch has the same ingredients with slight variations in ABV, so who cares. Lovely orangey amber color and a modest foam in the St. Bernardus globe. Adequately carbonated with some prickles on the palate.

This is a big step up for a Big Gulp sort of category. There is a big malty flavor, some intriguing spiciness, and a drier finish. This has some faint funkiness that is most welcome. Just a suggestion of hops, but somehow the big malt is well balanced. This may be a case where some shelf storage added to the complexity. From the 22 oz bottle purchased in San Diego.

Appearance: Amber in color, consistent throughout. No haze. Large white carbonation about half inch tall. bubbles that dissipates quickly. Minimal cling.
Aroma: Candi sugar and caramel malt sweetness star us off followed by earthen lager yeast. Touch of alcohol heat adds some spice and warmth.
Taste: Candi sugar sweetness starts us off and and dies just as quickly. Replaced by an earthy German lager yeast, caramel malts finish us up with one last bout of sweet that doesn't carry the same clout as the Candi sugar.
Mouthfeel: Medium body carried by the sweetness that coats the tongue and broken by the courser malts and yeast flavors. Medium low carbonation provides some lightness to the beer but is gone within a minute.

A : super clear (no chill haze for whoever said there was one), golden amber color. very thin tan head dissipates very quickly
S: yeasty aroma with some toffee and caramel. mostly that marzen yeast smell you find more often in imported marzens than the american brewed stuff. a surprising amount of alcohol on the nose as well.
T: whoa, way too much yeast. sourdough bread, some esters, straw and hints of funk. sticky then finishes clean. a bit of hop bitterness towards the end.
M : medium bodied. clean finish that doesn't linger

not a very good example of the style. very yeast dominate and stale tasting, with little to no balance in malt flavor, a zippy hop bitterness that leaves the beer underwhelming and from sip to sip too yeasty and weird to want to continue drinking.

I picked up a bottle of Epic Brewing Company's Fest Devious a few days ago for $3.89 at The Bavarian Inn. I know it's a little late for Marzen's but I never saw this beer during the fall and it wasn't till I visited a store that I don't normally go to that I saw it and I thought it was worth checking out, so lets see how it goes. Bottled on October 8th 2013. Poured from a brown 22oz bottle into a imperial pint glass.

A- The label looks ok, it's pretty typical for epic and it isn't too eye catching. It poured a burnt orange/caramel color that took on more of an amber and red color when held to the light with two and half fingers worth of slightly creamy off white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left some sticky and spotty lacing behind. This was a pretty nice looking beer, the color was a little bright for the style, but I thought it still looked nice.

S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness that had a light honey like aroma to it and it was followed by the malts being the first to show up and they impart a toasted malt, bread crust, slightly grainy, and some caramel like aromas. Up next comes some fruity yeast which imparts a noticeable fruity aroma that's a little similar to dark fruits and there's also a slight earthy aroma towards the end. This beer had a pretty nice aroma and I thought it was pretty true to style.

T- The taste seems to be pretty similar to the aroma and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness that has a slight honey like flavor to it and it's followed by the malts being the first to show up and they impart all those aspects that I got in the aroma along with a cereal and sweet malt flavor with the grainy and toasted malts seeming to stick out the most. Up next comes the yeast which imparts that same fruity aspect that's a little lighter then it was in the aroma and it has more of a generic fruit flavor then a dark fruit flavor this time. On the finish there's an earthy flavor with a slightly higher amount of medium bitterness with a grainy and toasted malt like aftertaste. This was a pretty nice tasting beer, but it was little more bitter than I like my Marzens to be.

M- Smooth, clean, a little crisp, medium bodied, with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel was pretty good and it was worked well with this beer.

Overall I thought this was a pretty nice beer and I thought it was a pretty nice example of a Marzen, it had a couple aspects that it didn't need to have for the style, but for the most part it's what I would expect from a solid Marzen. This beer had nice drinkability, it was smooth, clean, a little crisp, not too filling and the taste did a decent job at holding my attention, I think one bomber is the perfect amount for me, I think I would start to get bored with it if I drank more than that. What I liked the most about this beer was the mouthfeel, it worked pretty well with this beer and it's the type of mouthfeel that I expect from a good Marzen. What I liked the least about this beer was the slightly higher amount of medium bitterness, it's just has a little more bitterness than I like in my Marzens, but it doesn't hurt it as much as I thought it might. I would buy a bottle of this again if they release it next year, I would like to try a fresh bottle, but as far as I can tell I don't think age has hurt this beer much. I would recommend this to Marzen fans. All in all I was happy with this Marzen, it wasn't really unique or different from most American Marzens, but it did a good job at delivering most of the things that I want from a Marzen. It isn't my favorite Epic beer or favorite Marzen, but it's not a bad beer. Nice job guys, keep up the solid work.

The body sports a dark copper body with a nice, creamy head and softly rising carbonation. Toasted grains, honey, and nuts and toffee make up the aroma; peanut brittle. Warm, sugary flavor, very similar to the smell with an additional hop bitterness bringing up the rear. Medium bodied, glass smooth; clean and dry finish.

Pours a reddish orangey with an off white head. Aroma is sticky, bready, caramel, and a bit spicy. Flavor was similar, but the flavor lingered into the finish and aftertaste and totally ruined this beer for me. I had no need for the sweet and spiciness to remain in the front of my mouth well after my sip had finished. A medium bodied, creamy mouthfeel. Overall, this one was not for me. Won't drink this again.

good and true to style octoberfest, nothing out of the ordinary though. clear sappy honey color, thick looking for the genre, lacey white head dies pretty quick. a nose of german malts, grassy and fresh in a way these usually aren't, but perhaps a little too much residual sugar in this one, its sweet as can be as it closes, not something I look for in a lager. caramel flavors as it winds down, too much for the delicate grains to handle. however, the flavors all really work, its seasonally nice, easy enough drinking, and a little fuller bodied than most, which I always appreciate in the style. I guess there are many fest devious releases. does anyone know how much this changes batch to batch? it doesn't seem like a real groundbreaking evolution of beers if this is its seventh incarnation. anyways, good not great, you have better options at the new Denver tap room and brewery.

dark golden color, no head....
typical seasonal aroma.... caramel malts, sweet and plentiful.... smells and tastes just like your typical commercial octoberfest.... sam adams, hofbraus, you name it. almost ashamed for starting a thread on this one... probably why none has been started before....
easy going, a tad bitter; otherwise almost sessionable....

This definitely isn't an APA; it's something like an American marzen. Poured from a bomber into a pint glass, this is a crisp amber color. Nothing much on the aroma, maybe some toasted sweet notes. Taste is malt-forward, crisp and clean, with maybe just a touch of bitterness on the finish.

A: Dense oxidized orange shows no lighting through its body with a creamy oatmeal colored head sitting a finger high displaying a fair amount of resistance. A good show of carbonation bubbles lets us know its active inside, even with its dense nature, as effervesce rushes up the inner vessel walls. Strong lacing and a skim coverage through most of the drink rounds things out.

T: The flavor is fresh and grainy, lightly toasted character and a light earthy noble fresh hopping follows, but it is the grain base that is the main feature here. Malty, lightly sweet and toasty, the flavor just beckons for more of it to be drunk.

M: Nice creaminess on the mouthful that sits full on the tongue. Fresh green noble hopping traces off the tongue with a good amount of carbonation backing. Nice toasted bread and nobel hop flavors linger behind after the swallow.

O: Overall an easy drinking fall style beer that isnt loaded with speciality grains, featuring a fresh graininess and small toasted sweetness to give it character along with a fresh noble hopping that is mug worthy in repeat form. Clean flavor, a bit heavier then most ocktoberfest styles, but is just as easy to kick back to.

4.25 T: Wow, the taste is just so much better than I was expecting after the nose. It's big and bold with toastiness leading the way. Not as dry as the nose either. Indeed, it has a great balance between the toastiness and the caramel sweetness. Again clean with a slight yeasty richness.

4.5 M: Heavier medium body. Thick and velvety creamy. While it is a touch chewy, it's only minorly so. Very good here.

4.25 D: Overall a very tasty, super easy to drink beer. Pick this one up.

Labelled "Marzen #5" in the rectangle on the side of the label. 6.2% ABV. I chose this listing (Release #7) because though mine is marked Marzen #5, the ABVs and styles match up. In any case, there seems to be a fundamental problem with the way these Epic beers are labelled. 1 pint 6 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard branded pressure cap served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are average; I've not liked anything from Epic so far except Big Bad Baptist.

Served straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a three finger beige colour head of fair cream, pretty decent thickness, and pretty good (~4+ minute) retention. No real lacing as the head recedes. Body colour is a clear translucent copper. Vibrance is average. A typical appearance for the style. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Looking forward to trying it. An unassuming little märzen.

T: Layers of munich malt with fantastic creamy character. Light toasted character. A bit too much caramel. Brown sugar, light pear and apple. Bready grains. Too much floral hopping for the style and flavour profile, but it's forgivable. Still, the balance really suffers. A simple but pleasant beer. Strange for a märzen; it's certainly not traditional. I generally like it, but I'm unimpressed. No yeast character or alcohol comes through.

Mf: Sleek, smooth, and wet. Adequate carbonation. Not oily or viscous. Suits the flavour profile in a general sense, but it doesn't feel custom-tailored to it. There are no overt flaws with the texture, but it's far from exemplary. Decent presence on the palate.

Dr: Drinkable but forgettable. A pedestrian märzen from Epic brewing. I'm unimpressed. Do they make a good beer other than Big Bad Baptist? I'm content to keep trying their beers to find out. Decent but unexceptional. I won't be trying this again. The price point could also be far better. Hides its above average ABV decently, though.

I wouldn't say this is a beer thats true to its style "marzen", a bit more hoppy then most, but I liked that. Not much on the nose, but nice taste with stronger hop profile, yet balanced out by the malts. I surprisingly liked this beer more then I thought I would, have been kind of let down by some of Epic's other beers. This beer is nothing to write home about, but for a $5 bottle, its a nice pick.

This review is the 2012 release, which might be a different style from 2011.

A - Served up a bells anniversary glass of this ruby bubbly brew with 1 inch head with quickly disappeared

S - Smells of caramel malt, some pine, a tinge of mustiness

T - Taste close to smell . Malt heavy lager, lots of backbone filled with Munich malt, nutty grains, some clove. Short sweet finish, with a trace of hops. Very much in step with an Oktoberfest, and an average one at that. Not really sure what Epic is seeing this as particularly unique.

This beer is a deep, murky orange-brown. It develops a head just under a finger tall with fairly good retention that keeps a steady foam when it drops off. Lacing is moderate and spotty.
It's key to let this beer warm. It's completely different with a few minutes on it. Aroma's still light, but caramel and breads come out, more like biscuit than toast, and there's a note of herbal hops.
The flavor follows the nose appropriately, the chief differences being that the herbal hops note is strengthened a bit and added to by a floral note as well. It's got a good balance between the malts, with just a touch of sweetness, and the hops. A touch of alcohol sting goes into the finish.
The feel seems to work in three stages. Initially, there's a good smoothness but the crispness bites too hard. It goes into a sort of ideal zone when the crispness backs off. In the last stage, it thins a bit and fades a touch but the smoothness remains. The body is a sturdy medium.